


Out Hiding in the Dark

by anoinee



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: Am I even doing this correctly, C-Virus Mutation, F/M, I will legit add tags whenever a chapter is up, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Lanshiang Bioterror Outbreaks, Psychological Trauma, Some Plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-14 10:35:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14767973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anoinee/pseuds/anoinee
Summary: Shortly after the events of China, things have been going southward for Piers. He survives the whole fiasco back in Lanshiang, but his mentality isn't doing so great now that the C-virus is roaming free in his veins. He awakens with his memory in tact, only to be gradually blinded by bloodlust as soon as hunger appeared on his priority list. Now how the hell is Piers supposed to survive in China after naming himself as a killer?





	1. Hunted

**Author's Note:**

> *inhale*
> 
> Okay, to start things off, this is going to be an experimental fic based around insanity and all that. It's also my first time posting a long story here. So, I guess you can leave a comment for suggestions or point out some things I need to work on, I guess? It's been a while since I last wrote something long, so I may or may not be rusty with this. 
> 
> Anyway, still, hope you enjoy reading whatever this is! C:

It's cold- far too cold for his taste. Salty water laps his sensitive skin unceremoniously, irritating the reddened skin clearly affected by the virus he injected himself with a long time ago. Piers bites his lips to suppress the urge to wail from the burning sensation brought by the mixture of salt and an open wound, but even his resistance proves to no avail as a whimper escapes anyway.

Everything fucking hurts _badly_ and it's not even remotely humorous. His insides feel funny; he feels like vomiting out _something_ , but what exactly can he puke out after drinking nothing but disgusting sea water? And for the love of God, he does _not_ want to mention the state of his whole right side.

He ponders whether to open his eyes or not- to see where the hell did the universe decide to place him. The constant water slap to his whole vulnerable state and the soft yet irritating sensation of sand clinging onto his skin suggests that he is somewhere on the shore.

Good. He doubts he can last any longer somewhere deep in the ocean. Drowning is not a pleasant experience, nor does having water unceremoniously invading one's lungs. He also would rather not to recall about how exactly _empty_ the ocean is. It was nothing but emptiness and coldness, yet at the same time, it was teeming with hopes that Chris survives and keeps his promise. 

Right now though? Piers isn't so sure. Where is he anyway?

His head emits an aggravated throb as if the pain all over his form isn't bad enough. Another groan slips past pillowy lips, and by this point Piers is certain he will spend a couple of moments regaining control. 

But something stirs inside of him. Underneath the underlying tones of the scorching pain is the need for water, food, and necessities. His physical body is at a complete shut down; now that the whole ordeal in China is over, it is basically time to let loose since there's nothing to fret over anymore.

Except for the fact that he doesn't have a single clue on where he is of course.

Most of all, above all else, his stomach churns and coils in hunger and thirst. How long has it been since he relieved himself of any of these necessities?

Underneath the stench of the dried blood and the salty sea, a faint scent of a woodland creature reaches his nostrils. The near rustling whistles of grass disrupted by the pitter-patters of the unknown creature only signifies its close proximity. 

His normal eye flutters open, and later does his affected eye mimic the action; however, the faint pupil of his pearlish eye, milky and gleaming with some sort of paranormal emotion, dilates in some sort of reaction.

The rustling increases its volume. Some indescribable desire stirs within him. 

And before he knows it, within one blink of his eyes to shy the blurriness in his vision away and disregard the eccentric feeling, a crackling pain jolts his skin alive. He can feel his veins pop, bones shift and crack, skin sear from all the pain. He can't tell which is worse: hearing every single thing about it or experiencing all of them simultaneously. Just like that, it's like he's having the secondary wave of whatever he felt back in that blasted oil rig.

He screams, throaty and outright guttural, _animalistic_ even. 

Goddamnit, he's supposed to be stronger than this.

He's supposed to be _dead_.

It hurts- everything does. 

It just fucking _hurts_ so much.

* * *

The woodland creature, now visible due to the moonlight gleam, peers out of the bountiful trees as its curious eyes land on the writhing anomaly foreign and alien in its eyes. The antelope creens its head. 

Mismatched eyes fly wide open- the silvery eye sparkle with sickening malice.

He stands, staggering in his balance, yet in due time he regains equilibrium over it. Whitish eye glare at the antelope. His body jerks forward, taking an unsteady step towards the creature.

The antelope senses immediate danger when that staggering man is moving forward in its direction.

It takes a couple of steps backwards when the oddly-deformed thing creeps closer.

Staggers turn to normal steps. The antelope increases its pace.

Normal steps turn to a speed walk. The antelope turns around.

Speed walk turns into a sprint. The antelope breaks into a run.

Featherweight steps enacted behind it gradually morphs into heavy yet swift thumps.

The antelope continues running, ignoring the thundering footsteps trailing behind it.

A presence, larger and definitely inhuman, progressively looms over the antelope. It's close enough to the point where the creature can feel its haggard breath on its tail.

The antelope's neck is ensnared by a massive jaw embellished with razor-edged fangs. 

A sharp snap- cracking of bones- resonates throughout the small perimeter of the forest, soon followed by a series of crunches. 

The antelope's heartbeat ceases.


	2. Rendezvous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sherry decides to catch up with Leon in Starbucks. Surprisingly, Helena tags along. Not that Sherry minds; the more, the merrier! Also, Jake has incredible typing speed.

It's good to be back in the US, Sherry concludes, even if the States is still mourning for the loss of President Adam Benford. It's been a couple of weeks since the whole ordeal in China, and yet America still continues to recover. Not that she can blame them; after all, finding a candidate suitable for presidency, and of course winning the votes of the Americans, is no easy feat.

The girl heaves an empty sigh, taking a sip of her frappe and watching other men and women alike come and go in the coffee shop she has stumbled upon not too long ago. It's quiet, unlike Edonia nor China, and peaceful. It has certainly been a while since she has been under the company of this easy ambiance: no armed J'avos waiting in the corner, no bullets whizzing above her head, and no experiments to be done repeatedly. Nothing. Just serenity.

It's nice; it feels better than what she has experienced back in her first mission.

A sharp _ping_ snaps Sherry out of her daze. Mindlessly retrieving her phone from her pockets, she opens the device to see one message from Jake. She smiles unconsciously, unlocking the phone with swift ease and read whatever it is the man decided to type down.

_Hey, what's going on on your side, Supergirl?_ reads the message. 

They never did break contact. 

Sherry types, _Not much. It's pretty calm in here. I'm still waiting for Leon to show up though c:_

A notification alarms the agent after seconds dwindled away. _Still? Haven't you been waiting for him for, I don't know, fifteen minutes?_

_He has his reasons._ Sherry quickly defends, _I'm sure of it._

_Oh yeah? Like what?_

_Traffic._

_Fair point. He should've left earlier._

_Jake,_ Sherry prompts, _I really don't mind if Leon's late. He's been through a lot, and he needs a break more than I do actually._

_'He's been through a lot'?_ Jake, please, don't start an argument. Even if Sherry can absorb the former mercenary's vents, it doesn't mean her patience is perpetual. _What about me? I've been through a lot, but every time you need me for something and I'm not there yet, you scream my name like you're on a period or something._

A light warmth spreads through her cheeks, yet it fails to hinder the girl to reply her retort. _That's when we were running on time and/or have some B.O.W chasing our tails!_

_Excuse me, princess, but you also do that when things_ were _calm and we weren't in a hurry!_ Jake rouses. 

A huff of breath escapes past the girl's lips as her eyes momentarily dart away from the screen. Somehow there's got to be another attack she can use. _Still, we needed to get your blood AND data to the US government as fast as possible. And if I remember correctly, you were also screaming my name under similar circumstances >:c _

_That's because you were slow, and compared to you, I barely barked during those times._

The nerve of this guy. Sherry closes her eyes, resisting the urge to outright flood her message box with the emoticon she has previously sent. She doesn't even need to see Jake to know that the guy's smirking right at this very moment. Still, despite her slight irritation, the smile never did leave her face. Amusement is still clear in her eyes, slightly concealed by the annoyance.

However, before she can type out her reply, another message briefly catches her attention. This one is from Leon. Sherry didn't hesitate to read it.

_You sure Starbucks is down the corner?_ It reads, _I'm driving in circles here._

_Yeah, I'm sure._ Sherry affirms without much thought, mindlessly pushing the buttons until she notices one flaw as soon as she sends the text. _Wait, you're texting while driving?????_

_I'm not driving._ The response comes a little later than normal. _Helena offered to drive me around. Apparently she doesn't trust me with driving anymore._

_Helena? Who's that?_

_She's my partner back in China. Remember?_

_Oh yeah, I remember her now. Sorry, I'm just not familiar with the name since we didn't exactly have time for any proper introductions, but I won't blame you for that. Still, why won't she let you drive?_

_Shoot, I forgot about that. My fault. And to answer your question, it's pretty complicated and I'd rather not talk about it. Helena though will probably do once she gets there_ Another ping resonates. _Found Starbucks. Be seeing you._

_Okay, take care!_

_Sherry? You there?_

_Sorry, I was talking with Leon :c_

_He's already there?_

_Nope. _A quick side glance at the view outside and still Sherry isn't able to spot the Leon or Helena. Still, if Leon found the place, then surely the only thing they have to fret about is finding a parking space.__

____

_God, he takes his sweet time. You know, if I were you, I'd given up hope for waiting on that guy and get my ass outta there._

____

_I'm not canceling any plans, Jake. ___

______ _ _

_Jesus Christ you're really persistent on meeting this guy. Why do you want to hang out with him in the first place?_

______ _ _

Is that jealousy? From _Jake?_ Now why on earth would he get jealous? Sherry couldn't suppress her smile even if she did try. So much for being a stubborn head. There are times where Sherry has been tempted to get a VISA and get Jake out of Edonia for the sake of companionship. She isn't dumb nor naïve as the government would think; the government still has their eyes on her even if they did promise "liberty." Is it really necessary to shun her out of society for being a host of a virus?

______ _ _

_I really didn't expect to meet Leon back there in China, and I haven't really met him for a long time. Claire's the one doing the visiting and she's the one telling me what was Leon up to. He's always been all over the world, saving people's lives from bioterrorism. And I know it's really selfish of me but I still want to catch up with him and stuff. Staying with the government for the majority of my life was mostly me alone. It's not everyday I get the chance to talk to someone. Even Claire has her limits on how often she can visit me. And, well, maybe I thought today will be a good time to meet up with Leon before he'll be sent off to God-knows-where._

______ _ _

_Shit, Babe, never thought you'd give me that kind of response._

______ _ _

_Really? What were you expecting then?_

______ _ _

_I don't know. Something less emotional?_

______ _ _

Sherry snorts at his response before taking more sips from her frappe. With all her attention diverted at her screen, she fails to recognize a certain man, accompanied by a woman dressed casually, walking up to her table.

______ _ _

"Hey, Sherry." Looking up from her device, the said girl, now recognizing her surroundings once more, beams at the owner of the voice. 

______ _ _

"Leon! You're here! Took you long enough," She says enthusiastically before texting a quick farewell to Jake as Leon mirrors the smile with his own and takes a seat across. 

______ _ _

A chuckle escapes from the blonde, accompanied by a dismissive wave using his hand, "Sorry, we had to deal with aggressive drivers in the road."

______ _ _

"Better mad than drunk," on the side, Helena comments as she rests one hand on the tabletop while the other on her hip. Apparently, from the looks of it, she isn't entirely too keen in sitting down. 

______ _ _

Sherry turns her head at the other, briefly recalling their unexpected meeting back at China. Compared to now, she appears more relaxed and at ease. Probably because they're no longer carrying the weight of saving one self and a country on their shoulders. Actually, seeing them dressed casually is something Sherry still has to get used to.

______ _ _

"And you must be Helena?" 

______ _ _

The brunette answers with a nod, "Yeah, that's me. You're Sherry, right? Leon talked about you after we met."

______ _ _

"Really?" A quick side glance and a raised brow towards Leon is enough to make the man uneasy and raise his hands in mock surrender despite the fact that Sherry is obviously younger than he is. 

______ _ _

"Hey, since when did I ever tease you?" cries out Leon, feigning worry.

______ _ _

"Oh, I don't know," Sherry hums in consideration, again only meant for jokes and all. "since I was a twelve?"

______ _ _

Sherry doesn't miss the way Leon's acting cracked slightly when the corner of his lips tugged upward. Well, she can't blame him; she has a feeling she's doing the same thing either way. "But—"

______ _ _

Helena, amused, adds with a chuckle, "Don't worry about it too much. It's good things."

______ _ _

"Thank you, Helena," heavily accentuates Leon before facing back at Sherry. "See? I got proof with me! All good things and not even a _single_ hint of blackmail."

______ _ _

Their teasing made way to laughter, something that was missing ever since China. No more running around with adrenaline being their only energy. No more B.O.W ready to tear them to shreds. No more Ustanak. Just peace. 

______ _ _

Maybe this is how Leon feels every time he came home from a mission. Maybe that's why when Leon asks for vacation, he makes sure that he spends ever single time of it enjoying before another outbreak or terror comes. Now she understands why he's so laid-back right now, knowing that one day, there will come a time where this kind of tranquility is gone. 

______ _ _

Might as well enjoy every last second of it while she still can, while the city isn't sieged by psychopaths and megalomaniacs.

______ _ _

And looking at them right now, with how relaxed and glad they all are, everything almost seems perfect. 

______ _ _

"Okay, I'm going over there and buy something," Helena declares after the laughter died down into soft giggles and lingering smiles. "You guys want something?" 

______ _ _

"Depends. Is it on you?" Leon casually throws.

______ _ _

"After all the shit I've been through with every damn vehicle you touch exploding, no, it's not on me," Helena counters. "It's on you." 

______ _ _

Leon groans, "You're no fun. Fine, I'll pay for the three of us." 

______ _ _

Sherry, on the other hand, remains confused. What did the two of them go through while she was busy rescuing Jake? "Uh, why do 'every damn vehicle he touches' explode?"

______ _ _

"Sherry, don't-"

______ _ _

"It's a long story," Helena answers, smirking after hearing Leon sigh in relief, but she has other plans. "But to summarize it for you, we were almost killed by a cop car, a minecart, a helicopter, an _elevator_ —"

______ _ _

"An elevator?" Interrupts Sherry, very much intrigued by this whole ordeal.

______ _ _

"It was the building that exploded, not the elevator!" 

______ _ _

"and a HUMVEE," Helena finishes despite the unholy amount of interruptions from a defensive Leon and a curious Sherry. "I had the ride our getaway because after all that, I will _not_ have Leon behind the wheels ever again."

______ _ _

"Look, what matters now is that we survived and back at home, safe and sound," Leon finishes after brushing off his bangs away from his eyesight. Sherry can never understand why he never bothers to cut his bangs if it hinders him from view.

______ _ _

"Yeah," Sherry agrees, still smiling at the exasperated man, who is normally so cool and nonchalant with everything yet couldn't manage to accept his terrible luck. "I'm glad we all did."

______ _ _

She abruptly freezes when she recalls one very detail. _The memorial service from the B.S.A.A. The soldiers that died in China and those who sacrificed themselves to save her and Jake from the burning helicopter back in Edonia. Chris's partner. Chris' vague monotone in his speech for the dead. Claire's inner breakdown when she saw the conflict and turmoil in her brother's eyes that he bottles up to himself. Claire's façade of acting as a pillar of support even when she couldn't manage to bring herself together when she saw how dead he almost looked. There was so many deaths and many who had wept._

______ _ _

It's been a week since then. Sherry hasn't heard from the siblings ever since.

______ _ _

The others notice the abrupt change in mood and the way Sherry's smile slowly turned to a frown. Yet even in the silence and the somber mood, they know what she was thinking about. They've been there themselves, offering condolence to those who need it. _The after-effects of war._

______ _ _

"I, uh, like," Leon stutters, clearing his throat in hopes of steering away from this topic. For the love of God, any distraction will do good, just not this. "Actually, Helena, surprise me."

______ _ _

"Yeah, sure," Helena replies. "What about you, Sherry?"

______ _ _

"Um, blueberry scones will do," Sherry answers while awkwardly shifting on her spot for find a comfortable position. 

______ _ _

"Okay, I'll be back in a minute." With that being said, Helena leaves their table in silence, leaving the two alone amongst themselves. 

______ _ _

Not a word has been uttered ever since then. Sherry's gaze is anywhere but at Leon while the blonde focuses solely on the wooden table. He occasionally scratches the back of his head, too, but that doesn't matter. 

______ _ _

And when the silence became deafening, Leon musters the courage to speak up. "So, how-"

______ _ _

"I expected it, you know," Sherry claims softly, her eyes never fixating themselves to Leon's. "I expected the deaths. I always thought to myself that after Raccoon City, nothing should scare me anymore. Everywhere we went back then was misery and peril. I thought I would've grown used to it because I've been exposed to it ever since my dad decided to work for Umbrella, but this feels different. It's like I revisited Raccoon again, but I'm facing them with Jake and not you or Claire. 

______ _ _

Maybe it's because I'm older and I actually understand what was happening in truth and not in lies? Maybe it's because I've been trapped in the lab so long that I almost forgot what real fear felt like. I don't know anymore, Leon. I'm not regretting my job or anything, but I find myself regretting that I could've done better and saved more lives if I wasn't weak enough. I-"

______ _ _

"Sherry," Leon cuts in, breaking through Sherry's breaking voice and accumulating tears, "I know that this is all hard to take in. Deaths aren't easy, I know that because I've been in your place before. I've killed my friends who turned. I've taken a gamble in fate when I shot the Las Plagas out of an accomplice's spine back in Soviet Union. Trust me, I've seen enough to know how you feel, but you can't blame yourself when someone dies. You have to move on from it because those deaths always meant something. They died with the hope for us to save what they can't save."

______ _ _

The girl remains silent, listening and it's enough for Leon to know that she's taking this to heart. In-between her quiet sobs, she has mustered enough breath and courage to face Leon in the eye and nod. He takes the opportunity to continue:

______ _ _

"Look, you're alive right now. You brought Jake's blood here to the U.S. and did your job. You made the vaccine happen and prevented everyone else from being infected by the C-Virus. Everyone played their part, even if they met their demise, we still did something to give the world a break from some scum. That's what matters now, okay?" 

______ _ _

"You're right," Sherry whispers, nodding again and repeating those words a couple more times. Her sobs dwindle down to a couple of sniffles as she wipes away the trailing tears with the back of her hand. "You're right." 

______ _ _

"Hey, chin up, princess." Still trying to find ways to make Sherry crack a smile, Leon reaches out his hand and wipes away one stray tear that hasn't been wiped away with her efforts. She closes her eyes, endeavoring the even uneven breaths. "Come on, smile for me, Sher-Bear. Where's that pretty smile?"

______ _ _

"I told you not to call me that anymore." She hiccups a giggle, even if it sounds more like a wheeze. As she speaks, she brings her own hand up to remove Leon's hand away from her cheek. "It's embarassing!"

______ _ _

"Hey, you liked it when you were a kid!" Leon chuckles, relieved that she's smiling again. He never liked seeing Sherry miserable to begin with. 

______ _ _

"Yeah, but that was back then!" Sherry whines, laughing at the end. "I'm not a kid anymore."

______ _ _

"That took a lot longer than I expected," Helena voices out her annoyance as she sets the food-ladened tray on the table. "I swear the guy in front of me needed to- are you crying? What happened?"

______ _ _

"We just talked," Leon answers with a shrug. "Am I right, Sher?"

______ _ _

"Yeah, we did," the girl nods in agreement, grinning at Helena. "It's nothing to worry about now. I'm fine!"

______ _ _

Helena glances at them both for a moment before leaving it as it is. "If you say so."

______ _ _

As Helena takes a seat beside Leon, Sherry takes her scones after saying her thanks while Leon eyes the two grande cups, asking, "So which one is mine?" The brunette swiftly takes one cup and drinks its content away with a smirk. "Okay then. You paid for it, right?"

______ _ _

"Yep."

____"So how much does this all cost?"_ _ _ _

______ _ _

"Ten bucks and eighty-eight cents."

______ _ _

Leon reaches for his pocket as soon as he heard the amount, only to stop mid-way when his mind has registered the cents. "Christ, I don't have cents."

______ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> Welp, time to write the next one  
> edisndponsdsoajdkcosdkfskocspcpolvpkrefgpokodsksd
> 
> .... .. - .... . .-. .
> 
> Also, just in case that I somehow forgot to add tags, I'll be adding the characters who will appear in the next chapter c:
> 
> Aye, cheers to forgetfulness-
> 
> edit: revised something since there was something I forgot to input in here.


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